Authentication of a user's identity and/or credentials in a networked environment requires the ability to associate a user and/or credential with an online identity, such as a username and/or email address. Assurance levels (“ALs”) relate to a degree of confidence that a claimed identity is related to an online identity. Additionally, ALs relate the degree of confidence that a claimed credential is associated with the online identity. Assurance levels have been defined in a number of documents by standards bodies, including the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”), National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”), Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (“FICAM”), the Kantara Initiative, etc., such as OMB M-04-04, NIST 800-63-2, etc.
Parties seeking authentication of an online identity and/or a credential of an online identity may require a certain AL before conducting an online or offline transaction with the user being authenticated. The level of assurance (AL) or trust the party requires may be necessary to mitigate risk in their transactions, especially in matters of finance and national security.
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for providing a remotely verified authentication of online identities and credentials to relying parties, which can be trusted by the relying parties consistent with the determined or requested assurance level.